With the finals fast approaching, almost half the coaches that started this A-League season have either been sacked or quit their positions. It’s a testament to how difficult the job has become in this competition.
First to go was Ian Crook at Sydney FC. The likable Englishman said the task simply got the better of him and had become a “burden”.
Next went Rado Vidošić at Brisbane Roar. Considering his predecessor’s unparalleled success, the position was always going to be something of a poisoned chalice.
With Crook now technical director at Football NSW and Vidošić shifted to a similar role at Brisbane, it seems neither was really ever suited to the top job. Perhaps both gentlemen would have been wiser to remain assistants. Not every manager is best utilised as a head coach.
Third, and perhaps most unexpected, was John Kosmina’s walkout at Adelaide. While the full story is yet to be revealed, Kosmina was clearly disturbed by what he called “the whispers in the corridors.” And now, after a terrible run of form and the loss of several players, Ian Ferguson becomes the latest victim of the A-League coaching merry-go-round.
This season has surely been one of the most turbulent in the competition’s history. Have we ever seen four clubs lose their coach in just one season? And with Wellington Phoenix in free-fall, don’t be surprised if Ricki Herbert is the fifth to go.
Of course, coaching is a hard task no matter the league. But as the standard of play increases, coaching an A-League side has become much more difficult in recent years.
The fact that there are many willing coaches vying for just ten positions means it’s a buyers market for clubs. Either perform or you’re out.
And as the competition has become more embedded and clubs have started to build their identities, the pressure to get results has intensified. Indeed, social media and the proliferation of A-League focused websites has made the job more scrutinised than ever.
You’ve got feel for those who, for whatever reason, don’t succeed. The nature of the competition actually makes building a successful squad very difficult. Each coach is asked to perform with just 23 players on their roster, only five foreign imports and a strict salary cap.
Which means that keeping the squad fit and injury free is basically integral to success. This season Sydney FC have been unable to settle on a backline due to the ongoing injuries of Pascal Bosschaart, Fabio and Adam Griffiths. Their dismal ‘goals against’ tally illustrates the problem.
By contrast, the Western Sydney Wanderers have been almost untroubled by injuries, and have gotten the most out of their foreign legion. It’s a credit to their rookie coach Tony Popovic.
And while the Mariners’ might be considered “boring”, we all know that stability is the key to success. Graham Arnold has added greater tactical awareness and style to the ‘no-frills’ foundation established by Lawrie McKinna.
But the standout, as expected, has been Ange Postecoglou.
After a few hiccups, he has moulded the team into a highly efficient unit, and gotten the most out of individuals like Mark Milligan, Billy Celeski and Leigh Broxham, who have all previously shown glimpses of their potential without ever really performing consistently.
You’ve got to wonder about the Ange Postecoglou factor. At the beginning of this season, we were promised passing combination football by nearly all the A-League coaches, including notorious long-ball managers Ricki Herbert and Ian Ferguson.
Ange has raised the bar, and many are struggling to keep up. He presence looms large over the entire competition.
Still, Ian Ferguson can hardly feel hard done by. His side may have almost won the grand final last season, but they’ve never looked like a truly dominant side. Their late run in the finals masked some serious deficiencies.
It’s not as if Ferguson didn’t give it a go. As Vince Rugari mentioned a few weeks ago, his squad was perhaps the best on paper in the league.
You can’t fault his recruitment. But that’s just part of the story.
In truth, the manager has become the arbiter of success for A-League clubs. Aside from a few absolute standouts, most players in this competition are pretty much of similar standard.
It’s the coach who can turn them from underachiever to standout performer. Just look at the transformation of Mark Bridge and Michael Beauchamp under Popovic at Western Sydney.
As for Perth, it’s not all bad news. With Ferguson gone, Perth Glory old-boys Alistair Edwards and Gareth Naven have been given an opportunity to turn the club’s fortunes around.
As a one-time city councillor for Cockburn in Perth’s southern suburbs and a former striker for the Glory during the dying days of the NSL, Edwards is a logical choice in the west.
Let’s hope he is given the time to make his own impression on the squad beyond this season. The interim manager role does nobody any favours.
We’ve seen our fair share of marquee players in the A-League, with varying degrees of success. But considering the difficulty of the job and the closeness of the competition, is it time for an A-League club to hire a marquee coach?
It may prove to be a more worthwhile long-term investment.
Cameron
Roar Guru
who is trolling me or tezza? I like Mulvey but don't know if he will last.
Kylesy Sky Blues Fan
Guest
You must be trolling, no-one is that bad at maths. Also why don't you like Mulvey, he isn't that bad put in a good performance against Mariners, against us on Sunday pretty average with some good moments. Hopefully he pulls you through tonight against Birium and then we'll see his worth.
j binnie
Guest
Joe - This article touches on not only an Australian problem but a worldwide misconception on the duties of " a manager " and a "coach". You will note I differentiate between the two,for the 2 jobs in many ways are as different as chalk and cheese. Managers,if the word is taken in it's true meaning, should be men in total charge of the football side of an organisation. In being that, he has to have an experience that is not often gleaned in a player's playing career ,ie the whole gamut of the financial and business aspects that directly affect his performance area,and there are numerous examples over the years of this transitional period in a coach's life as the most "dangerous" to his establishing his managerial career. (Sir A.Ferguson is probably the classic example,closely followed by that other enigma in this area Arsen Wenger) Both these men,after years of experience.are in charge of the playing side of two of the biggest identities in the world game. The question is ,"how have they managed when many, many, many, have failed?" and it is to this area your investigative journalist's nose should be taking you. Let us examine a local success story and see if we can learn.WSW are a franchise set up with a minimum of influence from above so that Lyall Gorman can be seen to be the "boss". He has wide experience in running clubs and is actually answerable only to his backers,the FFA,who have other agendas to look after in the day to day running of the game. Result, minimal interference. Lyall employs a young man who has shown a willingness to throw himself around the world in learning his trade under various "managers", and ,having proven football ability as well makes an ideal candidate for the position "learner manager". This young man,in his wisdom, immediately recommends another young man as "his" coach,with the responsibility of organising,leading,and controlling the day to day preparation of the playing staff. This is the almost ideal situation 3 men,at different levels of experience and knowledge running a football club in it's infancy with not a little success. The worrying question?. How long will this "paradise" last if new owners are to be found.? Care to speculate Joe???? Your mate jb
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
The loss of Makarounas was the final straw. I was already leaning heavy towards giving Fergie the axe thinking but losing Makarounas like we did, after wasting him away in the NYL, was absolutely unforgivable. FootballWest is going great guns, the amount of kids playing is phenomenal, and we're seeing great stuff percolate up. That Glory has squandered this for the last several years...
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
We need some bandwagoners again! We've pretty much burnt our bandwagon to the ground over the last eight years, down to the core and very little else... We can see that the market is there, the 16k for Fowler's arrival (with 10k+ crowds for a couple subsequent rounds), the 14k attendance against Brisbane this year. Its there if we can, you know, stop playing the most unattractive football in the league.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Four from ten teams or coaches? If it is teams, then that figure remains 40%. If you're counting coaches then that would make it 5/14 coaches. Ten started this year, 4 gone and replaced taking seasons 8 total of coaches to 14. But i'm sure the article is referring to 4 out of 10 teams, if mulvey were to go it wouldn't be 50% of teams! It would be 5/14 (15) if another appointment in same season. Mulvey's sacking wouldn't make 5 teams. Is that clearer for you? Cause that's pretty much what I wrote first time.
nearpost
Guest
Tony Sage has a lot to answer for. Great investor but has he really set a plan in place. He even had a review a couple of years ago. Was the plan to ditch anything local anything young? Did Fergie buy into it?? Joe, "As Vince Rugari mentioned a few weeks ago, his squad was perhaps the best on paper in the league." joe, "You can’t fault his recruitment. But that’s just part of the story." Had to laugh. I absolutely fault his recruitment. More old pros and then more old pros on top. Where's the vision in that or do you really think that they built well on top of last years efforts. Note the word efforts! In a league of Coaching styles with the Roar, now Victory and Mariners..all the Glory really gave us was an unsustainable effort. Don't agree - take a look at who and what Ange is buying and doing and who he has given time to this year. Learn from the master Joe! Fergie has recruited a team of old pros who delivered a certain style last year and at the beginning of this. Chris Harald took a while to get a go and now he's playing in a team that has lost the winning streak. He should have been in from the start, and the young Markournas was surely worth many a go and others to. Perth have many young players who have disappeared from the West. This is the Sage and Fergie legacy. A brand of exciting, youthful football with players being developed surrounded by Miller, Burns and Smeltz..a la Newcastle's endless youth surrounded by Heskey, Griffiths and Zadkovich could and should have been a good model in the West. Youngsters proud and pleased to start and develop their careers in the West. How good would that have been for the next generation...not to mention the fans. The Glory simply signed too many old fella's meaning the young guys were never going to get a chance. You can't leave Jason Culina, Jacob Burns or Kasey Wehrmann, Danny Allsopp out of the team for too long - or else it will come to a head. Others have done it Fergie couldn't. His quote - I want to reward the players who got us (lost) in a Grand Final. Fergie had a chance to reshape and develop his team by adding youth around last years success. He didn't have the nous. The club is bottom, the Coach is gone. Will he get another chance in Australia???? Clubs must have a vision beyond the "we must be in the six." As must the Coach. Where is the Glory vision? How much more $$$$$ can one owner waste? How many players can Western Australia produce, only to see them all leave?
bryan
Guest
You mean that we dont 'genuflect to the "Wise Men from the East!" :) It's not to do with the Perth community not getting behind the Glory--it's more lack of performance from the team! Not quite an 8 season slumber---getting to the grand final last year showed they can do it--all they need to do is keep it up for a whole season,year after year.
tezza
Guest
hey champ the headline says 4 from ten so one more would make it five from ten which when I went to school was 50%?????????
langou
Roar Guru
They are the only two domestic football teams I care about. If Glory can get a coach as good as Ross Lyon I will be a very happy man.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Two great club men, both with a youth focus and intimate knowledge of the WA NTC pathway players gives me great hope. It really ticks a lot of boxes. The style of play should certainly improve! The parochial response has a lot of potential.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
I'm not sure that's fair. AFC set the playoff dates long ago and it was only after the season started that we learned that Brisbane was going to be in the playoff spot.
Joe Gorman
Expert
let's hope so AGO74
AGO74
Guest
W.A. People feel free to shout me down - but from the few times I've visited Perth I've been surprised by its parochialism. Hence, if Edwards who I understand is a sand groper can be a success perhaps this may finally be the circuit breaker to awaken the Perth community and get behind the Glory from what has otherwise been an 8 season A-League slumber.
Cameron
Roar Guru
How does that make it 50%? Still from Brisbane so if sacked or left it would still only be 40% (clubs) of coaches gone elsewhere. But seeing as though 14 coaches having been employed this year, Mulvey's departure would make it 35.7% of coaches gone.
tezza
Guest
now all we have to do is get rid of Mulvey and make it a neat 50% rate.
Cameron
Roar Guru
In regards to the sacking of coaches consistently each year I believe supporters should accept it as the norm, for now. Until more teams are created I believe positions 6 - 10 will always create an uneasy feeling. Brisbane Roar with their core group and Vidosic really should have done better, inevitable. Perth glory are exactly the same! Adelaide and what is going on there just created an uneasy feeling for Kosmina, his departure is no concern in regards to results but club structure. Sydney fc, well this club is the norm itself, nothing more needed to be said, wouldn't be surprised if Mulvey and Herbert and Farina add to it but not for this season but heading into next. Having more teams will settle down the coach merry go round.
Jackson
Guest
I've just reread my message, that was a bit tough on football, I didn't mean to have such a go at it! Tired! But certainly the level of player transfers etc really is a negative for the game I feel. The fact that players move mid season is just a joke I think..
Joe Gorman
Expert
you are right about the culture of expendability. That goes for all leagues.
bryan
Guest
It certainly happens in the AFL--The Dockers sacked Mark Harvey in mid year,& before that, Connolly. The Dockers & the Glory have many similarities: A fanatical fan base,mostly good players,good performances at the beginning of the year,folding as it goes on.. Purple uniforms! :) Both teams seem to get trapped into a defensive mentality,which doesn't serve them well. I suppose they are different codes,with different problems,but I get a feeling of "deja-vu" whenever I see the Glory starting to lose successive games which they should have won. By the way,about the "fanatical fan base"----------- "Come on,Glory!!!!!!" "Carna Mighty Dockers!!!!!"